Democracy Corps

A Complete Service Learning Program

Learn about American democracy while serving your community. Serve your community while learning about the responsibilities of American democracy. YLI’s Democracy Corps brings your civics lessons to the community while instilling life- long civic engagement in your students.

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The YLI Democracy Corps answers students’ questions about why we have a democracy and what responsibilities citizens have in being a part of it. Students then move quickly from the blackboard to the blacktop as they interact with local political leaders, grass-root organizations and citizens to deliberate solutions to real problems and influence public policy.

What is Democracy Corps?

Democracy Corps is a service learning program that can easily be infused into your civics education program. It takes what you do in the classroom and empowers students to use that information out in the real world. The program teaches about the responsibilities of citizenship and then uses the skills of democracy- discussion, debate and compromise- to allow students the opportunity to create real changes to their communities. By discussing relevant political problems, deliberating solutions and proposing action students are more likely to be civically active as adults. Salient research shows that students who discuss politics in class are 91 percent more likely to express interest in issues facing the nation, join a group to solve problems, contact an elected official, volunteer in the community, or work for a political party.

Democracy Corps builds on the rich experiences of Service Learning programs by placing the needs of charitable organizations in the context of government and civics-related issues. As Ken Stroupe, Chief of Staff for the Center for Politics, has said, “During the fleeting moment when students are taking an active interest in the needs of their community, it is negligent to miss the opportunity to also connect them with the larger world of government and public policy.”

Consisting of lesson plans, worksheets and skill development exercises, Democracy Corps has everything a teacher needs to implement a successful service learning project. Scheduling options within the program make it convenient for teachers with varying schedules and demands. As with all YLI programs, Democracy Corps is available FREE of charge to registered educators. Sign Up now.